We have our work cut out for us in the coming years. The threats to critical affordable and supportive housing programs that serve the poorest households and those with disabilities are real and significant. Become involved in planning the 2018 Congressional Reception!

NJCounts 2018

All twenty-one New Jersey Counties will be counting individuals and families who were homeless – both sheltered and un-sheltered - on the night of Tuesday, January 24, 2018.This annual census is conducted by networks of organizations, agencies and others that plan community efforts to end homelessness and is coordinated by Monarch Housing on the statewide level.

The goal of the second Annual Homeless Sabbath is to engage as many congregations of all faiths to include readings in their service(s) held on December 15th, 16th and 17th, 2017, at their respective house of worship. Click here to register online to participate.

Communities Reduce Veteran Homelessness

Expanded SSVF and VASH Make an Impact

In a recent post Steve Berg of the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) discussed progress being made to end homelessness for veterans based on this year’s Point in Time data.

He states:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki are pursuing a specific plan to end veteran homelessness, and congress has come up with the resources to fund it. Now HUD-VASH, SSVF, and other programs are providing permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and other interventions to fight the problem of homelessness among veterans and their families.

Data systems and program performance have also improved. And for the past few years, the overall number of homeless veterans has declined, even as service members return from wars in the Middle East to an economy without enough jobs.

Mr. Berg then references what future funding can do and how CoC’s will need to prioritize funding.

To meet the goal of ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015, we will need to accelerate the pace of these reductions. Beginning this fall, communities will have the tools to do just that. SSVF funding nationally will increase from $100 million to $300 million per year, and the Alliance estimates that $300 million should be enough to provide services to 110,000 veteran households.

This will make it possible to reduce the number of homeless veterans on a massive scale in a short period of time. In early October, the expanded SSVF programs will start seeing clients, and many communities could potentially house 70, 80, or even 100 percent of their homeless veterans by the time they do their PIT Counts this January. That would pave the way for a shift to homelessness prevention system for veterans.

If we are to be successful, communities will have to target SSVF resources to veterans who are already homeless, while coordinating HUD-VASH housing vouchers as they become available with other resources like Grants and Per Diem and employment assistance. Communities will also need to work efficiently to locate every veteran who is homeless in order to get him or her into housing with the appropriate level of subsidy and supports.

Please save the date for this important event and opportunity to delve deeper into the issue of segregation. Registration for the May 16 event to be held at Seton Hall Law School in Newark will begin in early April.